


What's With The Shirt?

by A_M_Kelley



Category: Bandom, Metallica, Primus (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, Friendship, M/M, Skateboarding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-30 20:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20102980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_M_Kelley/pseuds/A_M_Kelley
Summary: The man had brown eyes and a friendly, unassuming face. He didn't look as old as Kirk was expecting. He figured the guy was at least in his mid to late twenties, but upon getting a closer look Kirk could tell this guy probably just graduated high school a year or two prior. Something about him seemed familiar too, but Kirk couldn't quite place it.





	What's With The Shirt?

**Author's Note:**

> My dumbass shouldn't be doing this, but I've been wanting to write this for awhile now and I couldn't resist. Also, the title makes no goddamn sense now, but it will later. Trust me.

"I can't wait to put some grip tape and trucks on this baby," Jason said in admiration as he held up his new board.

"I know. It's gonna look sick," Kirk enthused as their elbows bumped into one another.

They had just gotten out of school for the day and since Jason had finally saved up enough money, they swung by the skate shop to pick up this cool board Jason has had his eyes on for the longest time now. Right now they were walking to Jason's place and Kirk could tell the other boy was beaming with excitement. Jason wasn't very well off like some of the other kids they went to school with; he lived on the _other side of the tracks_, so when he finally did get something for himself, it was always such a big affair. Kirk was happy for Jason. He deserved a new board. His old one was starting to wear a little thin in the middle from all the times he grinded a rail anyway.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, they finally made it to Jason's home. He lived in a small trailer park at the end of the road. The place was actually pretty nice despite common misconceptions. Everyone had their own little bit of property and they even had lawns that they tended to or, in Mrs. Adler's case, a flower garden. She was nice little old lady who has lived in the trailer park long before Jason ever did and she had a handful of strays that she fed on occasion. A few of Jason's neighbors were pretty nice. It was a nice little community. There was even a paved area for a basketball hoop as well as a picnic area.

Jason's house was about halfway into the trailer park and as they approached it, Kirk spotted someone he didn't recognize. There was a tall, thin man hunched over some beat up looking pick-up truck. The hood was popped, so Kirk could only assume he was working on the engine or something. Jason would probably have a better idea than Kirk, since Jason had a passion for cars and such. Kirk wasn't very interested in cars, though. He was much more curious about the stranger working on it than anything else.

Kirk trotted along to catch up with Jason, regarding the neighbor one last time before slipping inside behind his friend. Jason's dad was still at work which meant they be able to hang out for a little bit before he made Jason do his homework and Jason planned to make the most of it. He gathered up all the things he'd need to set up his new skateboard while instructing Kirk to grab some sodas and snacks from the cupboards. Soon enough they got all their provisions and headed out to the front lawn so Jason could put together his skateboard.

Jason's dad didn't like it when Jason left all of his skating tools and gear all over the place, which was understandable. It was pretty nice outside anyway even though it was slowly started to get warmer and warmer the closer it got to summer. Kirk didn't mind hanging outside. Something tells Kirk that Jason doesn't really like having anyone inside his home to begin with. Despite his somewhat laidback, cool guy exterior, Jason is still quite sensitive about some things. Namely, his upbringing. He knows Kirk would never judge him for that, but Kirk respects Jason's decision to chill out on the lawn rather than inside the small, humble trailer he calls home.

It's nice and warm out today, Kirk's grabbed a few sodas out of the fridge to help combat any heatstroke that might creep up on them. He handed a glass bottle over towards Jason who immediately popped the cap off with his bottle opener he had on his ever growing bunch of keychains. He did the same for Kirk's pop and they set out to distribute the snacks evenly. Once everything was in order, Jason laid all of his gear out on the lawn in preparation for his new deck. He had a couple sheets of grip tape, a T-tool, extra hardware and bearings, his new board, and his old, tattered skateboard.

He didn't have an extra set of trucks or wheels, so he'd just be taking those off his old board and slapping them on the new one. Kirk laid back in the grass and watched as Jason unscrewed the hardware from his old board. Kirk didn't skate as much as Jason, but he still knew how to do a few things. He could kickflip and ollie and manual, but Jason was more passionate about that kind of stuff. Jason was the type of guy who would do a trick until he got it right, no matter how tore up he got. He has plenty of scars on his knees from trying to grind the rail on the flight of stairs in the courtyard at school; not to mention he's sporting a little road rash on his elbows currently.

All in all, Kirk admired his dedication. A part of Kirk thinks Jason secretly likes the adrenaline and pain of wiping out or bailing. It reminds him of how alive he is. His dad, however, doesn't like Jason getting hurt. He's afraid Jason will break an arm or something worse and then he'll have to worry about medical bills that they can't afford. But Jason's dad doesn't stop him from following his passions. Jason's never been reckless as to where he's actually broke something anyway; he was lucky in that department. The closest he got to breaking something is when he landed primo trying to do a tre flip and twisted his ankle.

Those thoughts come and go as Kirk takes a drink of his soda and glances over at the man still hunched over the hood of his truck. He gets a good angle from the side where he's finally able to see the side of his face and studies the man. He looks fairly young, probably mid-twenties or so, hair that looks like it was bleached; not quite the beginnings of a mullet but more shaggy in the back. Kirk caught his profile, taking note of a rather big nose and thin neck. He'd never seen this man before out of all the times he's been to Jason's home. Then again, it's been a few weeks since he came over; they usually hung out at the skatepark.

"Who's that guy?" Kirk asked when curiosity got the better of him.

Jason stopped what he was doing and glanced up to follow Kirk's gaze. He saw the blonde guy working on his truck.

"Oh, that's Les. He moved in about a week ago," said Jason, unscrewing the hardware off his trucks.

Kirk stares a little bit longer at the man in question. He's wearing blue denim jeans, cowboy boots, and a plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off. Kirk can't help but think of that old show Beverly Hillbillies when looking at him and he smirked to himself at the appropriation.

"He seems pretty white trash," Kirk remarked, regarding this _Les_ guy with an amused gaze.

"You think?" Jason asked, getting the grip tape ready for his new board.

"Well, yeah. Look at him," Kirk gestures, sticking a hand out towards the guy. "Farmer's tan, ripped off sleeves, broken down car parked on his lawn, and he lives in a trailer park. Of course he's white trash."

"Gee, thanks asshole," Jason deadpanned when he took offense to Kirk's summation.

"What? There's nothing wrong with being white trash, Jason," Kirk stated. He raised up from the grass and gave Jason a quick peck on the cheek to make up for his comment. "I still love you."

"Stop! You're gonna give me cooties," Jason grumbled in a good-natured tone as he tried to fend Kirk off playfully.

During the midst of their fooling around, Kirk caught a glimpse of Jason's new neighbor to see that he had stopped working on his truck. He was staring over at Kirk and Jason, seeming to have gotten distracted by the ruckus they'd made. Kirk's eyes meet his for the briefest moment. He's too far away to see what color the man's eyes are, but his gaze is unmistakable. The man looked away as fast as Kirk was able to establish eye contact and went back to working on his car. Kirk smiled a little, but he didn't get a moment to think too much about it when Jason announced the board was ready.

"Come on, let's go break this baby in!" Jason exclaimed, scrambling off of the grass to run towards the quaint little basketball court.

Kirk gathered up all their things and ran after his overzealous friend, slightly aware of the eyes watching him. Kirk sat all their snacks and drinks down off to the side of the court. The court itself was just a concrete slab with no defining lines or marks on it like an actual court and there was only one hoop. It wasn't even a full court; more like half, but there was still plenty of room for them to test out a few tricks. Jason would have more time to go to the skatepark this weekend anyway, so this was a nice start.

Jason did a few tricks he knew he could land without issue. He was pretty good at popping the board, much better than Kirk, but that's because he practiced a lot. Jason could do any kind of flip and each of its variations. His favorite by far was the varial kickflip. There was a certain smoothness to the trick itself that seemed so fluid and natural to Jason. He's even tried teaching Kirk how to do it, but for some reason Kirk had trouble learning varials in general. He didn't mind watching and enjoying though. Kirk could be Jason's little cheerleader for the time being.

He hung off to the side of the court as Jason built up what speed he could manage with the space he had and watched him land trick after trick. He messed up on a shove it once or twice (which was admittedly easier than some of the others he was doing), but he was getting used to the new board. There wasn't as much give with it since it was still strong and sturdy; Jason had grown accustomed to the rickety, bending of his old board. Kirk would congratulate him every time he nailed a trick perfectly and clapped around his bottle of soda.

Off in the distance, Kirk could still see the man over by his truck, except this time when Kirk glanced over the man didn't look away. He was leaning up against his truck with his arms crossed and watching them with what Kirk could only assume was a look of amusement. Kirk pretended not to notice, but soon his full attention was concentrated on Jason's neighbor. He was far away enough to where the guy wouldn't be able to see his eyes casually flicking over towards him, so Kirk didn't run the risk of getting caught. Kirk was pulled out of his little world when he could no longer hear the board hitting and scraping across the concrete.

"You wanna try something?" Jason asked as he kicked his board up into his hand and offered it to Kirk.

"It's your board, man. I couldn't possibly--"

"Go on! Do a kickflip!" Jason encouraged, beaming from ear to ear. 

"I don't know. I'm not that good," Kirk said, making excuses. The real reason he didn't want to was because Jason's neighbor was watching them and he'd be embarrassed if he totally bailed out.

"Not with that attitude! You just gotta practice a little if you wanna get better," Jason told him. He was slightly out of breath and sweat had started to form on his nose and brow. Kirk's never seen Jason so excited before. "Come on, dude! Do _one_ kickflip for me! Please?"

"Ok--"

Before Kirk could even finish the word, Jason was practically throwing his board at Kirk who managed to catch it before it hit the ground. Kirk regarded it for a moment, noting that there were only two bits of hardware keeping the trucks in place. It would be a little loose for Kirk, seeing as how used to having at least three bolts in his trucks, so it made him a little worried.

"Two bolts?" Kirk questioned, looking up at Jason.

"I like it a bit more loose. Makes turning and flipping easier," Jason explained.

"It's gonna be like skating on an oil slick," Kirk complained, worried that he might actually fall and hurt himself.

Jason's face softened. "You'll be fine, man! I'm not asking you to tre flip down a staircase."

"Can I at least start with an ollie?" Kirk bargained, still looking very apprehensive.

"Sure. But if you land it, I wanna see a kickflip afterwards," Jason bartered.

"Deal."

Kirk set the skateboard down on the ground and set up his stance. He got a little momentum from one push and braced himself. Kirk kicked the board underneath him and did an ollie with little to no complication at all. He wobbled slightly after he landed, but that was because he wasn't used to to having only two hardware supporting him. He swung back around, riding out the rest of the speed he got and hooked the board towards Jason. The turn was a bit too sharp and he nearly ate shit, but Jason caught him under the arm just in time.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Jason congratulated, helping Kirk to stabilize himself.

"I feel like a newborn deer trying to walk across a frozen lake," Kirk commented.

"That's the spirit!" Jason enthused, ignoring Kirk's doubt. "Now do a kickflip!"

"I don't know, man," Kirk reiterated with uncertainty as he eyed the board on the ground.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Jason posed, crossing his arms and tilting his head to one side.

Kirk's gaze flicked over towards that _Les_ guy, who was still staring, and looked back at Jason with the faint beginnings of a blush creeping up on him. He wasn't afraid of falling or getting hurt; he's busted himself up plenty of times, but having an audience to bear witness to him messing up made his stomach churn. It was the kind of nervousness that came along with having your crush around. But why? Why was he so uptight about showing off in front of Jason's white trash neighbor?

Kirk didn't put up a fight or argue further, resigning himself into obliging Jason's request. Kirk was alright at doing kickflips, but Jason's board was different from his own. He had a hard time adjusting to different trucks and levels of tightness. He positioned his feet on the deck, got a rolling start, and braced himself once again. Kirk did this thing whenever he was about to flick the board; he'd ball his hands into fists and tense up his shoulders as if he was trying to center all of his power. Kirk managed to pop the board as he rolled across the half court and he was able to flick the board correctly, but his landing was stunted when he hit the board primo.

His feet planted directly on the side of the skateboard, causing him to wobble and lose balance. He fell to the ground backwards, his butt landing on the underside of the board in the process. He wasn't hurt aside from getting the wind knocked out of him and one of the wheels that dug into his backside on his rough landing. He'd probably have a bruise on his ass later. Jason gasped upon impact and rushed over to Kirk's side to see if his friend was alright.

"Dude, are you okay?" Jason asked, coddling Kirk like a child.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he grunted, shifting slightly to pull Jason's new board out from under him.

"That landing was gnarly!" Jason exclaimed, brimming over with excitement.

The smile adorning his face had vanished almost immediately, however, when Kirk handed back his skateboard. Jason's face dropped and he was no longer laughing. He cradled the board in his arms, trying to find a way he could possibly fix it, but the damage was done. One of the wheels had shattered when Kirk landed on it with his body, hence why his buttcheek hurt so much. Kirk got an eyeful of the half missing wheel and started to apologize profusely.

"Oh, man. Jason… I'm so sorry," Kirk gushed, scrambling up from the ground to look for the broken pieces. "I can fix this. Just gimme--"

Jason held up a hand, prompting Kirk to stop talking. He couldn't bring himself to look Kirk in the eyes; all he could do was kneel there with his board cradled in his arms like a baby. Kirk shut his mouth and stared at Jason bashfully from under his curly bangs, waiting for when it would be okay to speak again. After a few moments, Jason had calmed down enough to finally look Kirk in the eyes.

"It's not your fault, dude. These wheels were just old and brittle…" Jason looked down at the shattered wheel and let out a heavy sigh. "I knew I should've saved up enough to buy a new set of wheels, but I was just too excited, ya know?"

"Let me make it up to you," Kirk offered, reaching out to lay a hand on Jason's arm. "How about I come by this weekend? We can go to the skate shop and I'll let you pick out whatever wheels you want."

"You don't have to do that…" Jason sighed.

"I want to."

"Well, you can't! I won't allow it," Jason argued, clearly too proud to take charity even from his best friend.

"Tough shit! I'm gonna do it whether your stubborn ass likes it or not!" Kirk stated, getting pissy now that Jason was refusing.

Jason grumbled, giving Kirk an almost guilty look when he knew the brunette wasn't going to back down.

"Okay, fine," Jason relented.

Before anything else could be said about the matter Jason's dad had come home and was calling out to Jason.

"Jason! Say goodbye to your little buddy and come inside to do your homework," his dad shouted across the trailer park.

"Yes, sir!" Jason replied, raising his voice so he was heard. He got up from the ground and gave Kirk an apologetic look. "Fun's over I guess. I'll see you this weekend?"

"Yeah, how about I come over on Saturday?" Kirk offered, dusting himself off.

"Sounds good," Jason concurred, fist bumping Kirk before making the short trek back to his home. "Seeya later, dude."

"Seeya."

Kirk cleaned up their garbage and tossed it into one of the bins next to the court and made his way out of the trailer park. He waved goodbye to Mr. Newsted when he walked by Jason's home, getting an acknowledging nod in return. Kirk passed by that Les guy's home; he was sitting down on a lawn chair now, wiping the sweat off his brow with a dirty rag. Kirk couldn't help but get a closer look at the guy and made eye contact with him as he passed by. Les gave him a half smile like he was in on a joke Kirk wasn't aware of and gave him a nod.

"Afternoon," Les said, eyeing Kirk up and down with a smirk.

The man had brown eyes and a friendly, unassuming face. He didn't look as old as Kirk was expecting. He figured the guy was at least in his mid to late twenties, but upon getting a closer look Kirk could tell this guy probably just graduated high school a year or two prior. Something about him seemed familiar too, but Kirk couldn't quite place it. His name and appearance certainly weren't ringing any bells, though Kirk was sure he'd remember someone like _him_. Either way, Kirk didn't say anything in response to Les' greeting, but simply smiled and nodded over at the guy awkwardly in passing as he began his journey home.

The whole time he could feel the guy's eyes on him on his way out of the trailer park and he didn't know whether it creeped him out or excited him.


End file.
